My Hero
by Lieflotje
Summary: Inspired by Wemma surprise wedding when Emma talks about things in her head getting messy and Will making her feel clean again and being her hero. Angsty, Fluff, Smut and lots of Wemma love. First chapter is M-rated, but the second one will probably be T-rated that's why I put it on T.
1. Chapter 1

_Just wanted to explain a bit why I'm writing this story. Recently I have been watching old Wemma/Jayma videos and scenes even more to escape reality and when I watched the surprise wedding scene it got me thinking. Especially when Emma says "And whenever things in my head get all gooey and sticky and messy and I can't get them out, you always come along. And you make me feel clean. And you make me feel whole again.". I just always wanted a really fluffy, (maybe smutty) but angsty fic of Will being her hero after she has an epic meltdown or something like that. And I know there are already a lot of amazing fics out there with a similar theme, but they're not exactly what I want so I decided to do it myself (since I'm a panic attack expert :P) and share it here even though pretty much no one is reading or updating Wemma fanfictions anymore. For those that do, I really hope you like it and if you do, don't hesitate to leave a review. I'm planning on writing at least one chapter before they are married and one after, I hope I don't give it up or forget about it. So here goes._

"Oh no! Oh god no! Shit!" Emma rarely swore, but this was an obvious exception. She was trying to make a cake, but spilled the bowl of molten butter all over the counter and floor. She froze in shock. Could today get any worse?! She had felt off and edgy the entire day. No reason in particular, but sometimes she just woke up and felt wrong from the moment she stepped out of bed. Today was a day like that. It seemed like the whole world was working against her. Her toothbrush had fallen on the ground which resulted in boiling it in water on the stove. When she got to work she found out she had forgotten her office key so she had to run to the front desk and beg for a spare key. And like that wasn't enough already, Will and she had a slight argument when she was scrubbing her fruit clean again. She hadn't done that for months, she just washed them. Therapy helped her a lot, but on bad days she could temporarily fall back into old habits. So now she stood there in their kitchen. Something to try help calm her had resulted in another reason to feel anxious. She could see the butter starting to harden on the cold counter top. But she was frozen on the spot. Air coming quickly out her nose, her chest heaving. She had to get this cleaned up. Now. Quickly she grabbed a sponge, rubber gloves, degreasing soap and a bucket full of warm water. She started scrubbing frantically.

And that's how Will found her when he came home. He immediately saw this wasn't her normal cleaning, this was all her pent up frustration and fears coming out in the form of excessive cleaning. "It's not coming off." she muttered to herself, not even noticing her fiancé had stepped into the kitchen.

Will had a slight feeling this would turn into an inevitable panic attack. Luckily he now knew how to deal with that. After they got back together for real after Emma's marriage to Carl there was one day that Emma had a panic attack, because of a passing car that drove through a muddy puddle, covering her in the dark, slimy substance. _The moment they got home she broke down and couldn't move from her spot on the floor. Will had seen her moving frantically before. He had seen her cleaning more than normal or getting anxious at certain situations, but he had never seen her like this. He had no idea what to do, but helped her through it as best as he could. That evening when she was her normal self again he sat her down on the couch and talked to her about how he could help her in the future. He told her what he noticed that did something and she told him what she thought would help. "Uhm okay... I've never really talked about someone with this, because I usually had to deal with it on my own and my parents always only made it worse, but I know I can trust you, Will. So...yeah. I-I think that it would help if you'd try to touch me. Your hugs always make me feel safe. But sometimes touching makes it worse so uhm...just try and when I flinch away or something don't touch me. Talking might help? I think. I think it helps when you lay me down, because when it gets really bad I pass out. That's about all I could think of... Really, Will. I am so thankful that you're willing to help me. I don't know what I'd do without you."_

"Emma." he said warily, taking a step towards her. "Em?"

"It's not coming off! It's still sticky!" she whined.

"Emma. Baby." He put a hand on her arm, but she flinched away from her.

"Don't touch me!"

"I'm sorry, honey. I didn't mean to upset you. Why don't you stop scrubbing for a minute and look at me okay?"

"Leave me alone, Will." she muttered.

"Em, I really want to give you what you want, but...I don't think it's very wise if you were alone right now."

"Please just go away, Will! I can handle it!" A tear rolled down her cheek which told him she could do anything but that, but he didn't want to upset her any further.

"Okay, Em. Whatever you want." So as hard as it was for him to do nothing, he walked towards the living room.

Emma had eyes for nothing but the greasy spot on the counter. Once it was finally done, she picked up the bucket to put it on the floor, but it slipped from her grasp and the soapy water flowed over the kitchen tiles. "No! Nooo! Please!" Quickly she picked up the bucket and placed it on the floor with the remaining water still in it. She was so beside herself and needed nothing more than to clean up that stain on the floor. She didn't even feel the water reaching her knees and skirt. She just kept on scrubbing and whimpering. Will heard the louder tone in her voice and couldn't contain himself anymore. He refused to let her fight this alone.

"Oh, baby." he said while watching her scrub the same place which was already clean by now. There was a twinge in his heart for seeing her so helpless. "Em? Hey. Let's get you up okay?"

She looked at him, desperately wanting to prove that she was still in control of herself. "No. I'm fine. I'm fine. Just need this clean." As she said that while still breathing too fast, she quickly went to stand up. Maybe a little too quickly, because she immediately fell to the ground again. He tried to catch her, but she slipped through his arms and landed on the wet floor. He waited a few seconds until her eyes opened again. He wasn't glad she fainted, but he was glad she was calmer now. That thought was short lived though as she squeezed her eyes shut and started to whimper.

"Hey. Hey, Emma. No need to panic okay. Can you sit up for me, sweetheart?" Emma quickly shook her head. "Okay. No worries. I'll help you." He tried to keep his voice as low and calm as he could although he was anything but. But he had to pretend he was, talking anxiously back at her would only make her stay in it longer. He pulled her up by her armpits and put a hand behind her head to help her move into him.

Her whimpers had turned to full blown crying and sobbing. Will held her tightly against his chest, not caring they were sitting in soapy water or that they were both wet. His main goal was to calm her down. "It was so-so dirty, Will! It h-had to g-get clean!"

"I know, baby. I know. It's okay." He stroked her hair and placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head.

"I'm s-sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry I made-m-made you mad!"

"Oh no, sweetie. No. I'm not mad." He squeezed her tighter for a second and then put a finger under her chin so he could look into her teary eyes. "I'm not mad, Em. Really. I was just frustrated. No need to feel sorry." Her crying slowed down and she buried her face in his neck. "Now. Let's get you cleaned up, okay? You're all wet." He closed his eyes, cursing himself in his head for his choice of words.

"Oh goodness. Oh god. Oh..." She looked down at herself and the dark spots in her skirt. "I'm dirty. I'm so gross!" Her hands went in her hair and she started to hyperventilate.

"Shit." he muttered under his breath. "Emma. EMMA. Emma, look at me!"

"I'm so dirty!" she kept muttering to herself.

Will quickly made up his mind on what to do. He decided it was no use if he kept her in the situation that made her upset in the first place. He put an arm under her legs and one behind her back and picked her up bridal style. She trembled in his arms. He walked with her to the bathroom and put her on her feet. Her knees buckled, put he held her up. Her eyes were still closed and her breathing still way too fast. He didn't want her to pass out again. He knew that sweet talk wasn't helping right now so he needed to be stern with her. Still keeping his voice low and gentle, but firm he spoke to her. "Emma. I want you to look at me. If you keep doing what you're doing, you are going to pass out again. It's your choice what you want to do, Emma." He made sure to say her full name and make her calm herself. He kept talking and repeating the same thing hoping to break to the wall of anxiety that made her deaf. "Emma. Come on. I know you can do this. I can't help you if you will not let me help you." He took her trembling hands and placed them on his chest. "Match my breathing. Feel how I slowly breathe in and out. Just try to match it. I will wait for you, Emma. Try to breathe with me." Slowly but surely her breathing slowed down again. "Good job! Good job, Em. You're doing great. Just keep breathing with me. Can you open your eyes for me?" She kept them shut. "I would love to see those beautiful eyes, Em. Can you show me?" he coaxed. Slowly she opened her eyes and squinted a little at the light. "Good girl. You're being very brave, Em." Her big eyes met his and her lip trembled. Her breathing had slowed down to almost normal and he pressed her to his chest. "Hey... It's okay. You're okay. I'm here. No need to cry." She looked up at him and he couldn't help but giving her a sweet kiss on the lips. "Can you smile for me?" he asked when he pulled away.

She raised the corners of her lips and looked at him so glad he was always there for her.

"That's my girl. Now let's get in the shower." He let go of her waist and gently unbuttoned her sweater. He looked at the wet spots in her sweater and wrung it out above the sink. "You're soaked, you goof." he said with a light chuckle and he shot her a loving smile. She smiled shyly back at him and cast her head downwards out of embarrassment. He then proceeded with removing her skirt and underwear. He tried not to stare at her afraid he would make her uncomfortable, but he couldn't pretend seeing her naked didn't do anything to him. He quickly shredded himself of his own clothing and took her hand, leading her to the shower. He turned it on, waiting for the water to heat up and let her in first. He stood with her under the spray and placed his hands on her hips. "You okay?" She shook her head. "Alright. I understand. But you will be, I'll make sure of it."

"Uhm...can I-would it be okay if I just sat for a little while?" she asked him. She was still a little shaken up.

"Of course, sweetheart. Whatever makes you feel better." Luckily the shower stall was easily big enough for both of them and they sat opposite each other, both leaning against a wall. Emma pulled up her knees and rested her chin on it. She wrapped her arms around her legs and made herself as small as possible. Will pulled one knee up and stretched his other leg out.

She cast a quick glance at the place between his legs. Will looked so comfortable and his manhood was just hanging between his legs, almost completely hard. When she looked back up he caught her eye and gave her a smirk. She blushed and smiled back. "I'm sorry." he said. "That's just what you do to me."

"It's so strange, you know?" Emma asked him.

"What is?"

"How like a year ago I hadn't even had sex ever in my life and now we can just be naked around each other and be comfortable. I like that."

"Me too, sweetheart."

She rested her head and looked at him, he looked back and she already felt a little bit better. Will stood up and reached out his hand. "Come on, I'll clean you up." he said with a wink. He made her stand under the spray and soaped up his hands with body wash. He moved her out under the spray and told her to turn around. "I know just how I can make you relax." he whispered in her ear. First he started kneading her shoulders and neck and after a while he moved to her upper and lower back. He soaped up a second time and slid his hands to her behind. Emma leaned her hands against the wall before her, dirt was now pushed to the back of her mind and replaced with something much more interesting. He squeezed and rubbed for a while before he went down on his knees and massaged up and down her smooth legs on both sides. After that he soaped up once more and stood behind her. He started at her arms, then her belly and then his hands made a slow path upwards until he had both breasts in his hands. He gripped them tightly and kept squeezing and letting go while he pressed himself against her. She could feel his desire pressed into her lower back and couldn't help letting out a little moan. Will pinched her nipples and slipped his right hand lower until he made contact with the most sensitive part of her body. He sucked her neck as he brought her closer and closer to the edge of something wonderful. Her little moans got louder and higher and he felt himself getting harder at the sound. Her hips moved in time with his hand, wanting to feel extra loved.

"Will!" she gasped. "Oh!"

He knew she was close and pressed his mouth to her ear. "Come for me, Em." She reached her climax and Will steadied her with an arm around her belly. Her breaths calmed and her body relaxed and then she turned around and looked at him in a seductive manner. He leaned down and pushed his tongue into her mouth. While they were kissing Emma's hand slipped down and stroked along his erection. Suddenly he stopped and grabbed her wrist. "Sweetheart, you don't have to do that. You've had a rough day and you're exhausted. I don't think it's a good idea if we had sex right now, not that I don't want to."

She seemed to contemplate his statement and gave a little nod. "But just let me do this. Just uhm...with my hand you know. I really want to thank you for being so good to me." she told him very quietly.

He gave her a nod of approval and watched as she wrapped her hand around it. Her hand traced a vein from the underside to the top and rubbed her thumb over the head. He couldn't help a moan escaping his lips. She looked up at him wide eyed as if she didn't know what she did to him. She just looked so goddamn innocent and he just had to kiss her. He brought a hand to the back of her head and pulled her to him. Their tongues easily wrapped around each other. Emma blindly traced her hand lower and played with his balls. He groaned in her mouth and kissed her with even more passion. Then she went up again and rubbed the place just below the point where his head began and they both knew that was his favourite spot. He pushed her back so they were both under the spray and his other hand grabbed her butt. When they both ran out of air he broke their kiss and leaned his forehead against hers. Emma contemplated getting on her knees and using her mouth, but decided that would be a bit much for today. She felt too dirty. So she kept moving her hand up and down on him, alternating speed and the twisting of her wrist. She knew how, Will had taught her well and he had showed her some videos to see her reaction. When she heard his breathing pick up, she moved her hand faster and looked up at him. "Emmaaa." he groaned. And it made her feel powerful, that she could do this to him and that he liked it. "Baby. You're-ungh!-you're doing so good, Em. Doll, I'm close!" She leaned up and kissed his pulse point, sucking on his neck. He groaned loudly and released over her hand. She saw his eyes roll in the back of his head and his mouth open and it made her feel so good to be able to make him feel this way. She was glad that the water quickly washed away his cum of her fingers and they both washed up one more time before getting out of the shower.

Will grabbed a big towel and wrapped it around his fiancée. He grabbed another one for himself and quickly dried off. She just stood there wrapped in the towel, watching him. He threw his towel in the laundry basket and walked back over to her. He took the towel off of her and started to rub it along her arms. She giggled and he was glad to hear her laugh again. "Will. You don't have to dry me off, silly. I can do it myself, I am not immobile."

He shushed her. "I want to. I don't mind." Emma felt a little awkward to be standing there, but then he pushed the towel between her legs and rubbed it up and down a few times. "Need to make sure we dry between every nook and cranny." he said with a wink.

She bit her lip, but then he moved on and threw the towel away. "You horrible tease!" She smiled at him and it was like nothing even happened to her. He grabbed a clean towel and her hand and led her to the bedroom. He laid down the towel across the mattress and Emma watched on with raised eyebrows. "What are you gonna do?"

"You'll see. You just relax, sweetie." He pushed her gently on the bed to lay down on the towel.

"You said you didn't think we should have...sex."

"I know and we're not. Just turn around for me and lay down on your stomach, okay." She did what he told her and when she heard him reach for something in his bedside drawer she finally knew what he was planning to do. Will pulled out a bottle of massage oil and grabbed a pillow to put under her head. "You just relax." he said in such a sexy way she already felt herself getting a little wet and she squeezed her legs together. He squirted some oil in his hands and rubbed them together. He started with massaging her still tense shoulders and rubbed all the knots away. Subconsciously he started a low hum and Emma was putty in his hands. He moved on down her back, spend a little time on her backside and then he spend an equal amount of time massaging her legs and feet, still humming quietly. "Baby, flip over for me please." Emma did what he asked and looked him in the eyes. He leaned down to give her a quick, but loving kiss, grabbed some more oil and started at her feet again. His hands glided along her legs over her belly, all the way up to her beautiful breasts. He couldn't help but look in her eyes to see her reaction. His eyes forced her to keep hers locked with them. And he saw her bite her lip as he rolled her nipples between his fingers. His right hand slid back down over her soft belly and he started rubbing her clit. Emma looked away from the amazing pleasure. "No, honey. Look at me." Her eyes shot back up to his and she saw so much love in them. Still biting her lips, she let out little moans and softly moved her hips up and down. The moment he sent a finger inside of her she closed her eyes and rolled her head backwards. He smirked. And kissed her lips once more. His kisses moved down her body. Her slightly oily skin was a strange feeling, but it didn't bother him. He placed kiss on her jaw line, then her neck, her collarbone, one on each nipple, a little lower, then even lower, he placed one on her belly button, one on her panty line and then finally one on top of her pussy. His left hand spread her legs further apart. And after that his lips made a long awaited descent to her clit. He wasted no time and immediately began licking and sucking on her little swollen clit. The licking sounds Emma heard made her even hotter and she kept moaning and moving her hips faster. "Slow down, beautiful." He gently placed a hand on her hip to keep them down. He always called her nicknames and Emma loved it. She didn't know why, but she found it so endearing.

His teeth graced her clit and Emma let out one of the loudest moans he had ever heard come out of her mouth and he couldn't help but feel proud of himself. She grabbed the side of the pillow and buried her face in it. Will added a second finger and moved them faster in and out. She was so wet and he loved the sound it made. He used his teeth again and Emma had no control over her body anymore. Her right leg started shaking and the sounds she was making were quite foreign, even to her own ears. She felt him press his tongue harder against her, round and round, up and down. Damn, he was good, but she already knew that. Her mouth formed a perfect 'O' and her hips raised in the air riding wave after wave of intense pleasure. "Wiiihiil!" she cried.

He continued for as long as she could handle and then finished with one last kiss to her nub. "That's my girl." Kisses were trailed back up her body until he reached her lips. He laid on top of her and looked into her eyes, it was clear she was tired. He felt the stiffness in his penis, but decided he could get it to deflate if he just thought about something else but the vision laying beneath him. He got another towel and rubbed the oil of her skin. "Need another shower?" he asked.

"No honey, I'm fine. Thank you."

Will grabbed the towels and threw them in the basket in the bathroom. He went to the sink and splashed cold water on his face, he also splashed some on his penis and waited a minute to calm down again before walking back into the bedroom. Emma had pulled the blanket up to her chin and watched him as he crawled in next to her. Immediately she cuddled up to him. Her head rested on his naked chest, her hand fell above his heart and her leg was thrown over his. "Are you okay now?" Worry still edged his voice. He was so sweet.

"I am. Thanks to you." She kissed his jawline. They said nothing for a while and laid there in the dark. Then he felt something wet on his chest and he heard a sniffle. He put his hand under her chin and lifted her head so she would look him in the eyes.

"Hey. What's wrong?" She looked down and opened her mouth to say something but then decided against it. "Emma. Tell me."

"I just...I'm just so grateful for you." He smiled at her words. "And...I'm so sorry, Will." He wanted to interrupt her and assure her she shouldn't be but she told him not to. "I'm so sorry for being a bitch to you earlier and that you had to see me like that and that I'm so hard to deal with. I really don't know why you still put up with it, Will. Why do you even love me? I am-"

"Emma stop! Stop okay! Stop being so hard on yourself. Sweetheart, I LOVE you. I love YOU. And I love you just the way you are. Of course it hurts me to see you like that, but I still take it because I love you and I want to help you and it's a part of you. No one is perfect. I'm not either. And when you love someone you take the good and the bad parts. And luckily I got to calm you down. In several ways..." He raised his eyebrows and he was rewarded with a watery chuckle.

Emma let out a shuddering breath. "I love you so much."

"I love you too, Em."

"Really Will. You're my hero. You're always there for me. You always stay sweet and patient with me. You always pick me up when I fall. I couldn't ask for a better partner than you."

"You have to know that you do that for me to, Em. You always know what to say to make me feel better and you always keep me into to consideration like I try to do to you. You don't ever have to be afraid of losing me, you know. I will love you forever. And while I don't like it when you feel bad, I do secretly enjoy sweeping in and saving you. I'm always here for you." He kissed her then and she felt that he meant it. "So what happened? Why did you have a bad day?"

"I don't know. Nothing really happened. I just woke up feeling really bad and it only got worse from there. I promise I only cleaned my grapes because I felt so bad, I will try my best not to do it again."

"We all have bad days. It's okay. And I know you will, I just got a bit frustrated, that's all."

She snuggled further into him until suddenly a horrible thought came into her mind and she sat straight up. "Will. The kitchen floor is still covered in dirty water!"

"No need to worry, Em. We'll clean it up. The floor is made of tiles that won't stain from the water and it will be just the same if we dried it up now or over an hour. If you want to clean it up right now you can, but I suggest that we put an alarm for over 40 minutes or so and we just cuddle and take a little nap. Then we can clean and have dinner."

Emma bit her lip, clearly debating in her head what was more important. Cuddling with her own personal hero or cleaning a kitchen floor on her own that gave her a panic attack. The choice wasn't so hard after all. She laid back down. "You put on the alarm?"

He smiled. "Already on it, love." He wrapped his arm tighter around her and they quickly drifted off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

_Hi guys. A little author's note beforehand. This is the second and probably final chapter, but who knows. :) I didn't proof read it or anything so I apologise for any mistakes, feel free to point them out to me so I can alter it. Reviews are appreciated and enjoy!_

Life was good. He had a wonderful wife, an adorable son and he was principal of a school he had only dreamed of becoming reality. Daniel was almost 10 months old and went to the school's day care when Emma wasn't home with him. He was so proud of how far she had come. She had so many fears leading up to the pregnancy and birth of their son. She was desperately afraid of being an inadequate mother or passing her mental problems onto her kids, but she had soon realised that there was nothing to be afraid about. The moment that baby boy was placed in to her arms she had just known what to do. She could have never imagined it, but motherhood came naturally. Of course they needed to learn things, but Daniel was a fairly easy baby. She had had some minor panic attacks in the first few months of Daniel's life, but it was nothing they couldn't deal with together. She used plastic gloves when changing his diaper and on good days she could even do without them. Will loved seeing her with his son, who was clearly a mama's boy. She had called him before when she was home alone with the baby, but he was always able to calm her down over the phone. This was why he didn't think much of it today either.

"Hey sweetie. What's up? Did you two get home okay?"

He heard nothing but shallow breathing for a few seconds and it was then that he heard the loud wails of his son in the background.

"Em?"

"Will." she whimpered. "Can you-can you please come home?"

"Honey. I'll be home in an hour. What happened? Is Danny okay?"

"I just..." Another whimper cut her sentence short. "He's doing sort of okay, I-I guess. But I'm not. Will, _please_ just come home."

He could hear the desperation in her voice and her breathing picking up. "Okay. Okay. I'm grabbing my things now. Just breathe slowly. Emma, what _happened_?" he stressed.

"Daniel, he uhm... Will, he ralphed on me."

"Em, that has happened before. You know how to deal with this, sweetheart."

"Yeah but uhm... It's all over me! And in my hair and face and-" She gagged. "It's so bad. Oh god. The _smell_. Will!"

"Emma. Emma! Okay. Calm down, baby. Listen to my breathing. I'm getting in the car."

No response.

"Emma?"

He heard the phone clash with the floor and he cursed under his breath. He hung up and made his way to their apartment as quickly as he could. When he got there he took the stairs two at a time and struggled to get his key in the lock. Daniel's cries could be heard in the hallway. At last he got the door open and ran inside. "Em! I'm here." He walked in to the kitchen and was immediately drawn to his desperate boy, up in his high chair next to the counter. He didn't see Emma. "Hey buddy. Hey. It's okay. It's okay. Daddy's here. No more tears." There was a little bit of spit up dribbling from his mouth and some bits on his shirt, but nothing too bad. He feared what that meant for the amount left on Emma. Where was she? He was able to soothe his son and as soon as his cries quieted down he was made aware of the sound of very rapid breathing. He located his miserable wife lying in the foetal position, half under the kitchen table. What should he do? Baby? Wife? Baby? Yes, he should take care of Daniel first. It wouldn't do Emma any good if he was in the same room with his dirty clothes. "Em?" Once again there was no response. The only signs that she was even alive were the heavy breathing and the shaking. He needed to act fast. "Baby, I'm going to clean Daniel up and I'll be right back, okay?" She seemed far away.

He picked up his son and took him to the nursery. "Well, at least now we know why you were crying so much last night." he muttered to his son while changing his clothes and wiping his face. "I'll give you a bath tonight, buddy. For now you just have to do it with wipes and clean clothes. You must feel miserable, huh?" The baby gurgled back at him, he seemed to be calming down. "Yeah, that's it." He placed his son in his crib and placed a kiss on his head after throwing his dirty clothes in the hamper. When he started to walk away, he heard a whimper coming from behind him and he walked back while looking Daniel in the eyes. "Please don't. Not right now. Just be a good boy and I will take care of mommy." The little boy seemed to pick up the mention of his mother and his lip started trembling.

"Mama?" he asked worriedly. He seemed to have some idea of the mood his mother was in.

"Mommy will be fine, Danny. She will be fine. Just be a good boy and be quiet, okay? Can you do that, bud? Shhh." Will put his finger in front of his mouth and made a shushing sound. "Look, here you have some toys. And ssshhh." Daniel mimicked his actions with his own finger. "Good boy." Will praised. "Daddy will be back in a little bit." He could not believe how smart his boy already seemed to be and just prayed he would be quiet for a while.

When he got back in to the kitchen, Emma was still in the same position, the only difference being the loud whimpers that accompanied every breath out. This looked really bad. She didn't have much of these extreme panic attacks, especially lately, but he had witnessed a few. It didn't stop him from worrying though. He crouched down and placed a hand on her shoulder. She whimpered loudly and recoiled as if he had tried to burn her. This would make it harder. His usual tactic was holding her and giving her much needed comfort until she calmed down, but it was obvious she didn't even want to be touched right now. She was beside herself. He kept his voice low and soothing. "Hey... Hey baby. Emma. Let's get you in a more comfortable position, okay? Let's get out from under the table." She didn't even seem to register his presence. "Emma? Em? I'm here, okay. It's me, Will. Danny is fine, I am fine and you will be fine too. Emma? Can you hear me?" Nothing had changed about her. He had no clue what to do. Touching her seemed like a bad idea that would only make things worse, but talking didn't help either. He carefully leaned closer to her, without touching her. She had her hand covering her face and her hair covering her hands. He could imagine that those things didn't help with breathing either. He hovered above her and tried to speak as close to her ear as possible. "Emma... Emma, can you hear me? Baby, can you listen to me? You'll be okay. I promise you. I will take care of you." Still no reaction.

He stood up and grabbed a towel from the cupboard. Turning the faucet to cold, he wet the towel and wrung it out. He knelt back down and held the wet towel above her. She was shaking uncontrollably. "Sweetheart. I have a wet towel. Remember how doctor Shane recommended it? Emma? I'm going to drop some water on you now." He carefully moved a bit of hair from her face and neck which she didn't even seem to notice and squeezed the towel until droplets of water fell onto her skin. She seemed to shiver, but he couldn't tell for sure because of the trembling. He let a few more fall down and then very carefully he brought the towel down against her. He pressed the cold material against the side of her neck and her hands, but it didn't seem to do much. He made an executive decision and stood up. He walked to their bathroom and opened the faucet in the bathtub. He waited until it warmed up, put in the plug and squirted in Emma's favourite bath soap. He didn't care if it overflowed while he was gone, she needed to feel clean again and besides, there was a draining hole below the rim that would keep it from overflowing, hopefully.

He got back to find her in the same position he had left her in five minutes before. Normally she would have some kind of reaction by now. When the second time with the towel didn't work he decided he needed to take drastic measures. He didn't want to make her any more anxious or uncomfortable, but he just didn't know what to do. He grabbed her by her upper arms, which received another loud whimper and pushed her out from under the table. He sat down beside her with his legs folded and after another minute with no response, he grabbed her by her arms and pulled her in to his lap. She seemed to panic even more if it was even possible and he just wished he knew the answer to her problems. "Baby, baby, ssshhh. Ssshhh. I'm not going to hurt you. You're okay. You'll be okay. Ssshhh. Breathe easy. Match my breathing." Her whimpers had turned to wails and he just didn't know what to do anymore. He had never seen her acting like this and he wondered if Daniel throwing up on her was the only reason for this outburst. He wrapped his arms around her and swayed from side to side. A few tears rolled down his cheeks. What was happening? She still acted like he was some kind of predator that was out to harm her. Did she even know who he was? How could he make her realise it was him and that he only wanted to protect her. The smell of vomit reached him and he just knew he needed to get her out of these clothes as quickly as possible. The smell probably kept her reminded of what she was covered in, all the while keeping her in a state of panic. He thought of placing kisses on her head, but decided that would probably also make it worse. What wouldn't? And then he did something he usually did to calm himself down. He kept her pressed to his chest and started humming an easy unknown melody. The vibrations in his chest seemed to be the first thing to make her breathe somewhat slower. He was surprised she hadn't completely passed out yet. He kept on humming and rocking for another few minutes and bit by bit she became a little calmer. The wails had stopped and turned into whimpers again. "Good job. Good job, sweetie. It's okay. You're doing great. Try to match my breathing, Em." He resumed humming for a little while longer. "Emma? Can you hear me? Can you nod if you hear me?" He almost didn't catch it, but that was definitely a nod and he squeezed her a little tighter. The whimpers had gone and he could only hear the heavy puffs of air that fell against her hands. "Hey. Why don't you put your hands down, okay? Baby? Nothing bad will happen, I promise you. You can keep your eyes closed if you want to." Slowly Emma pulled her hands from her face and buried it in his shirt instead. He stroked her hair and gently turned her face to the side so she had less trouble breathing. They sat there for a while and her breathing was almost back to normal when he heard her gag. The smell somehow made it back into her senses and she heaved. He decided that now would be the time to move. He scooted out from under her and effortlessly picked her up before carrying her in to the bathroom. "I'm going to get you clean. No need to panic. You'll be okay." He put her down to undress her, but she immediately crumpled to the floor. He turned off the faucet (and said a silent thank you for the tub not overflowing) while Emma brought her knees to her chest and started sobbing. "Baby. Baby. Em. It's okay. It's okay. You will be fine." He lifted her head up, but she wouldn't open her eyes. It was then that he saw the bits of food in her hair and a dried up trail on her chest and in her neck. "Oh sweetie..." He carefully unbuttoned her cardigan and took it off together with the rest of her clothing. She was a ragdoll under his touch and kept on sobbing with her eyes closed. It took some work, but when he finally got her undressed her picked her up by the armpits and held her in a standing position. She buried herself into his chest and heavy sobs left her throat. "I know. I know..." he shushed. "It's okay, sweetheart. We're going to get you cleaned up." He helped her into the warm, soapy water and made her sit down. She was limp, but kept her eyes squeezed shut as tightly as possible. Will knelt next to the tub and squeezed some soap into a clean washcloth. He wet it and gently started to wash her while making shushing noises. When he had removed all visible dirt from her skin, he coaxed her to open her eyes, but she shook her head. "Baby, it's gone."

"I don't want to see it." she squeezed out in a tiny, tearful whimper.

"Emma, the dirt is gone. I washed it off."

"But now it's in the tub!"

"No, honey. No, it's not. It's all on this washcloth that I will throw in the hamper right now."

She carefully opened one eye.

"See?" He showed her how he rinsed the washcloth in the sink and threw it in the hamper like he had said.

She squeezed her eyes once more as if to brace herself for seeing only doom and despair and was pleasantly surprised when she opened them and nothing traumatic happened. She brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She avoided her husband's gaze as tears rolled down her cheeks. He knelt next to her again. "Can you look at me?"

Emma ignored his request.

"Emma, _please_." It was the desperation in his voice, just like it had been in hers on the phone, that did it. She looked at him through blurry eyes and opened her mouth to say something, but he said it for her. "You don't need to apologise, okay. You don't have to be embarrassed. I understand. It's okay. I was just very worried about you. Are you...okay...now?"

She sniffled. "Sort of."

"What happened that made this so bad, Em? You were inconsolable for almost an hour."

Emma looked down in shame.

"Was it just because Danny became sick?"

"Yes." she croaked out. "Well... Maybe not. It was the main reason, but I've been feeling sick myself since Monday and I-I just feel so horrible. And the _smell..._ It was like I was back at the dairy farm."

"Emma... Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to worry you. And I g-guess I just didn't want to admit that I was really becoming sick. I hate being sick and it makes me feel so _so_ nasty and out of control."

"I understand. Just next time, please come talk to me right away. I really don't want to have a repeat of this. Whatever this was."

"I'm sorry..." she whispered as a lone tear fell down into the water.

"No. No, Em. It's okay. I'm not mad. I was just really worried, but you're okay now and that's all that matters. I'll go give Danny a bath when you're done and-"

"Where's Danny? Is he okay?!" she asked, filled with worry and regret.

"He is fine, Em. He just felt a little sick, like mommy. He just wants to see mama smile again and then he will be absolutely fine again. You go wash your hair and put on one of my sweatpants and shirts and I will get him ready for his bath. And after that I will make some soup for dinner and we will all snuggle under a blanket in front of the TV. Sound good?"

Emma nodded.

"Can you smile for me?"

She forced out a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes yet, but he was okay with that. He placed a kiss on her forehead and made his way to the nursery where his son was already waiting for him.

Emma smiled to herself for real this time, thinking how lucky she was to have her own personal hero who could always save her from the most awful of nightmares. She rinsed her hair and looked forward to cuddling up with the two most important men of her life.


End file.
